New Year’s Eve 2017

“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul…”

-G.K. Chesterton

The last day of the year always hits hard for me. It’s a whirlwind of emotion – excitement that the year is over, nostalgia for the good moments that I’ve experienced, anxiety about the future, a bit of loneliness, gratitude for the wonderful life I have…and the list goes on. I don’t know when this particular holiday became such an important thing for me, but it has been my favorite for a long while.

The concept of being able to start fresh, with a clean slate, appeals to me. Having set many goals for myself and having failed at achieving many of them, I like the idea of having a fixed moment when I can reset and feel like I’m being given a chance to start over. I know that many people would disagree and say that I don’t need to wait until NYE to make this happen, that I can, in fact, start over with every new sunrise. I agree, but NYE offers a specific calendar moment that stands out and happens to be a day when the world slows down just a bit to pause and celebrate and reflect – and that’s what I love about it. I’m surrounded (well, virtually at least) by people who are taking some time to think through the year, to “close out the books” (a phrase I heard recently on The Good Life Project podcast), and to set intentions for the upcoming year. There’s a much bigger movement taking place around the world at this time and I love being a part of it.

Here are some of my NYE reflections…

Things I’ve learned/thought through in 2017:

Traveling to a new place brings me so much joy – I need to do it more often

Joy is super important and I need to find it in every day

It’s very difficult to stick with a new habit, until you make it a priority above and beyond everything else in your life (which I haven’t quite learned how to do yet)

I am an introvert. I need time alone, away from people, to just be by myself.

Most of the life lessons I’ve learned have come from books I’ve read. I need to keep reading.

Being married is wonderful and difficult and it will take our lifetimes for us to keep getting to know one another and keep growing together. I’m looking forward to it.

I am more than my career. I have other skills, can learn new things and need to keep pushing myself so I don’t get too comfortable.

I like challenging myself to be better and to try new things.

I am a good teacher and a good coach.

Faith does not, and cannot, develop linearly. It has its ups and downs.

30 is when you realize you’re not as young as you used to be

Things I need to keep learning/re-learning/reflecting on/working on:

How to love myself and make me a priority (in order to have enough left over to give my all to everything else)

How to build new habits in my every day life, specifically focused on my health

How to find new skills to learn and build on, to keep pushing my mind to expand and grow

What I really want my life to be like, where I want to contribute and how to make all of that happen

Ways to show my appreciation to my wonderful life partner

Ways to keep long distance friendships strong

Finding little things every day to be grateful for – I know they’re there***

I need to find my “strong back, soft front, wild heart” (Brené Brown) and take pride in who I am and what I can do

And so, I close out my books. It’s been a wild year, with many beautiful moments and many dark ones, but it’s time to move forward.

Instead of resolutions for 2018, I’ve set goals for myself as a teacher, as a coach and as a human. I’ve printed them out in a pretty chart and placed them strategically at home and at work so I will see them regularly and remember them. I’m ready to go.

And instead of focusing specifically on my work (as I did in last year’s posts), I’ve chosen to write holistically about my experience as a human this year. Maybe it’s not interesting at all, but maybe there’s something in my experience that strikes a chord with you – share your thoughts!

***The other day, I had a sudden craving to participate in a year of gratitude in 2018. My intention is to post a tweet about at least 1 thing I’m grateful for each day of the year. I hope I am able to live up to my intention and I hope you’ll join me in my journey on Twitter. Follow me: @nhusainhabib.

Smidgens 'n' Snippets

“You don’t have to say anything to the haters. You don’t have to acknowledge them at all. You just wake up every morning and be the best you, you can be and that tends to shut them up.” -Michelle Obama